


Needle and thread

by tokyoangel1000



Series: Gifts [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Established Relationship, Established Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Sherlock, M/M, Romance, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 01:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8351239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyoangel1000/pseuds/tokyoangel1000
Summary: Sherlock tries to make a Valentine's gift for John. It doesn't go as well as he had hoped. Thankfully, John doesn't mind.





	

The living room of 221 B Baker street was quiet. Too quiet. The floor was littered with a mess of fabric, balls of cotton and heaps of thread and ribbon. And sat in the middle of it all was Sherlock Holmes.

  
Sherlock sighed as he looked at the mess surrounding him. He had been so occupied by his little project that he hadn't even realized what a mess he was making. John would be back from the surgery within the hour and it would be a stressful pain to clean it all up before he got home and saw it. John couldn't see it. It would ruin the surprise.  
Another sigh left Sherlock as he looked down at said surprise sitting in front of him. Beady eyes stared back at him, a small crooked smile made of thread almost mocking him. The little fluffy creature, meant to be a do-it-yourself teddy bear seemed to heckle him. Why he had thought this would be a good idea he couldn't even remember anymore. The teddy bear in front of him looked nothing like the one on the box he had gotten from one of London's many DIY-stores.

  
He had originally gone to the store to get a specific type of cotton thread he needed to prove a man was guilty of murder, but had stopped in his tracks when he had overheard a shop assistant recommending one of the DIY teddy bears to another male customer as "the perfect gift" to give to his loved on Valentine's day. The shop assistant had emphasised over and over again how important it was to show your loved one appreciation on such a special day, and in Sherlock's ears it sounded like his new relationship with John was as good as doomed if he failed to produce a decent gift to represent his love and affection for him. So in the end he left the shop, cotton thread and teddy bear kit in his shopping bag.

  
The instructions on the box had been simple, and Sherlock was a genius for heaven's sake! So why did the bear in front of him have a crooked smile and an equally crooked ribbon around its neck? Sherlock sighed once more before stuffing all of the leftover material into the nearest plastic bag and was about to throw in the bear as well, but then he hesitated. Valentine's day was the following day, and he had nothing else to offer John as a gift. A poorly made teddy bear was probably not going to please John, but despite the way it looked Sherlock had tried his best and that had to count for something, right?

  
Sherlock didn't get much time to contemplate whether he should give the bear to John or not, as in that moment he heard the front door open, Mrs. Hudson chattering a greeting and John's warm voice rumpling in return. In a moment of panic, Sherlock stuffed the bear inside the bag and rushed to their bedroom where he disposed of it underneath the bed. He then rushed back to the kitchen and slid a random petri dish under his microscope, and when moments later John entered the flat he focused all of his attention on it despite the petri dish being empty except for a couple of grains of dust. But it wasn't like John would notice. He knew his act had succeeded the moment he felt lips on the crown of his head and heard the kettle being filled with water. His eyes briefly glanced towards the bedroom before going back to the microscope. Maybe he'd just get Mycroft to deliver all the roses of London and an expensive teddy bear from Hamley's. There was no way he could give his own creation to John. Mycroft owed him a favour either way.

 

 

As the first rays of sunshine peeked through the curtains of the morning of Valentine's day Sherlock was already in full motion. He would have much preferred to spend his morning in bed with John, but arrangements for the day had to be made.

 

_Send whatever is the appropriate amount of red roses to Baker street as well as the most expensive teddy bear you can find at Hamley's. You can consider this as you repaying a favour if you so wish. - S.H_

 

_Forgot to get a gift for your goldfish brother dear? Wouldn't me delivering this defeat the point of it being what people would call "a gift from the heart"? - M.H_

 

_Just get it done. - S.H_

 

_Very well. The items you've requested will be at Baker street within the hour. - M.H_

 

Satisfied, Sherlock slid his phone back into his pocket and perched himself on the back of his armchair. Mycroft's words did bother him a bit, but why should they? John would appreciate some lovely flowers and a well crafted bear much more than a clumsily handmade item Sherlock had tried to put together. The teddy bear he had made wouldn't do any good as a symbol of how much he loved John. No good at all.

  
He closed his eyes and was just about to slip into his mind palace when he heard the familiar sound of John's footsteps coming from their bedroom. Eyes still closed he waited for the morning kiss which was sure to come, only to open them again when the footsteps stopped a couple of strides away from him. And to his horror he spotted a very familiar plastic bag in John's hand.

 

"How did you f-"

 

John swiftly interrupted him before he could finish the question.

 

"If you didn't want me to find this you should have made sure that all of the bag's contents actually made it underneath the bed. The small balls of cotton on the floor was like something out of Hansel and Gretel."

 

Somehow Sherlock managed to lift one elegant eyebrow questioningly while still looking quite horrified.

 

"Hansel and Gretel? Famous fairy tale about a pair of siblings finding a house made of candy and gingerbread? You know what, forget it. Why did I just find a bag underneath our bed containing a teddy bear and what seems to be enough material to make him a brother?"

 

Sherlock slid down from the back of the chair and curled his legs up to his chest.  
"It was part of an experiment I worked on yesterday. It failed so I was going to throw it out today. Just leave it by the door and I'll get rid of it when we go out for dinner later."

 

Now it was John's turn to lift an eyebrow. "We're going out for dinner today? You didn't tell me. And what kind of experiment could you have possibly been working on which would involve this?" He gave the bag a small shake to emphasise his point.

 

"I reserved us a table at a restaurant me and Mycroft used to dine at with our parents when they visited London. You'll enjoy it." Sherlock fiddled with his phone just to avoid John's penetrating gaze. "Just be ready by six. Mycroft will send us a car."

 

"Sherlock, anywhere where you and your family used to dine is going to be way more fancy and expensive than I can possibly be comfortable with. Why don’t we just order Chinese and stay in instead? Or if you really want to go out we can eat at Angelo's. I'm still waiting to hear the story behind this bear by the way."

 

Sherlock pouted, cheeks heating with embarrassment. "I was under the impression that one should do something special for their loved ones on Valentine's day. I don't see how us eating in as usual would be even close to satisfying."

 

"Sherlock." John used that voice which was a mix of sternness and fondness, often used when Sherlock was doing something verging on the line of a bit not good. "You're fibbing and I can tell. What's with this bag and why do I get the feeling that it has something to do with this Valentine's day masterplan?"

 

Sherlock's breathe caught when John stepped into his space and kneeled down by his feet, teddy bear out of the bag and wrapped in John's callused hands. John had that warm look in his eyes which made Sherlock's heart make little summersaults and his cheeks heat up further.

  
"Did you know that the world's first teddy bear was made in-"

 

"Sherlock." John stated affectionately.

 

Sherlock sighed. "I may have tried to make a bear for you as a Valentine's day gift and I may have failed at doing so. And that may be because I've never had to make a teddy bear for anyone before because I've never been in a relationship like the one we're currently in and I have no idea how to do this."

 

A giggle was heard from John down on the floor. "Breathe Sherlock, you'll pass out." And to Sherlock's great relief, the fond expression on his face stayed in place. "Sherlock you didn't have to do that for me. I would have been happy with a day without cases so we could cuddle without interruptions on the sofa. But this is lovely Sherlock. Why were you going to throw it out after you actually spent time making it?"

 

"Because it's not good enough." Sherlock knew he sounded like a whiny child, but he had to make John understand. "You only deserve the best John, and I know I'm no good at relationships and that I screw up most of the time, but for once I wanted to make an effort and make you something, no matter how small, to make you understand how much I appreciate you. But I miscalculated and I now realize that it was an idiotic idea and that I should have bought you a gift instead of trying to make you one myself. Don't worry, Mycroft's men will be here soon to drop off some proper gifts. And then we'll go to dinner and then we'll come home and have sex and-"

 

"Sherlock! For heaven's sake you need to breathe!"

 

Sherlock snapped out of his rant with a gasp as John grasped him by the shoulders. He hadn't even realized that John had moved from his spot on the floor. "I can assure you I have not forgotten how to breathe John." His words barely managed to convince himself.

 

John huffed and let out something that sounded like a chuckle and a sigh at the same time. His eyes were downcast and he looked like he was trying to collect himself. But then his eyes was back on Sherlock and that warm expression returned. "Sherlock, I need you to listen to me and not interrupt okay?"

 

Sherlock could only nod.

 

John slumped down on the armrest and Sherlock automatically moved his arm to wrap it around john's waist, but then hesitated. John only gave him a warm smile and stroked his hand through Sherlock's curls which gave Sherlock enough confidence to follow through with the action. He rested his head against the side of John's chest and although the angle was weird at first, he wanted to be as close to John as possible. The teddy bear stared at him from where it sat on the floor.

 

"Don't ever feel like what you do isn't enough Sherlock. I don't need fancy dinners and gifts to understand how much you love me. You show me every day Sherlock. No don't look at me like that." Sherlock lowered his eyebrows and settled back against John. "When you hug me, kiss me or when we cuddle on the sofa it's like you saying I love you. When we have sex or sleep together in bed I know too. You seem to forget that I know you Sherlock. And I also know that you spent way more time on that bear than you're letting on and that I'm definitely not going to allow you to throw it out."

 

Sherlock's cheeks were burning by the time John was done and his eyes felt oddly wet. John just chuckled fondly and kissed Sherlock's curls. "Now, how about you cancel those dinner plans and I find a place to display Mr. Teddy over here. And then I'll make breakfast while you hug me from behind and complain about how I make too much food like you always do even though you secretly like my cooking. Sound good to you?"

 

Sherlock felt himself smile and give a nod. "I love you my Boswell." He drew back and looked up at John. "Happy Valentine's day John."

 

"Happy Valentine's day Sherlock. I love you too Sweetheart." A kiss was placed on Sherlock's lips before John picked up the teddy from the floor and walked over to the kitchen, humming a sappy tune. Sherlock couldn't stop an enormous wave of affection from rolling through his chest. He took out his phone to cancel their dinner plans only to see a text message waiting for him.

 

_My surveillance tells me you won't be needing those gifts after all. Domestic bliss truly suits you brother dear. - M.H_

 

_Piss off Mycroft. - S.H_

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story! I'm back to writing fanfiction after months of being busy so I'm a bit rusty, but I'm very happy to be back. Please leave some kudos and a comment if you'd like to give feedback, and subscribe to the series if you want to know when I publish the next part. Each part will be a seperate oneshot with its own little story and I hope you'll want to read them and enjoy them. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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